Blasters

Key Responsibilities

• Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
• Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
• Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
• Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
• Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
• Document geological formations encountered during work.
• Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
• Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns.
• Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
• Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
• Signal crane operators to move equipment.
• Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
• Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
• Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
• Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
• Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
• Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
• Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
• Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts.
• Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
• Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
• Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
• Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
• Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, and drills, in order to bore charge holes.
• Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
• Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
• Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.